Anso Koenig
= Personality = Anso's one of those guys that always seems to find something funny. It doesn't matter what sort of situation he's in, there's always something that'll have the young man chuckling, even if it's self-directed. He's friendly, irrepressibly cheerful, and most people never realize just how much he's hiding behind the smiling mask. = Paradigm = "You can't put it back together until you've torn it to pieces first." Anso's about as close as one gets to a militant Virtual Adept, in that he believes that to truly free the Sleepers from the shackles the Technocracy has placed on them, those shackles must be broken. It is not enough to hope that Man will wander aimlessly and blinking into the light of Ascension; sometimes you have to grab the poor schmuck, give him a good slap, and drag him along. The same applies to Reality, as it were. Laws that serve no purpose but oppression invite dissidence, and the door marked "Do Not Enter" will be kicked in at the first opportunity. = Sheet = Attributes: : Physical: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2 : Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2 : Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4 Abilities: : Talents: Dodge 1, Insight 2, Integrity 4, Scrounging 2, Sensitivity 1, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 5, Vigilance 3 : Skills: Research 2, Stealth 1, Technology 2 : Knowledges: Academics 1, Computer 5, Enigmas 2, Investigation 1, Law 1, Lore (Technocracy) 2, Lore (Garou) 1 Occult 2 Advantages: : Spheres: Correspondence 3, Entropy 2, Mind 1, Prime 1 : Arete: 3 : Willpower: 5 : Backgrounds: Avatar 4, Contacts 2, Library 1, Resources 1 : Merits: Manifest Avatar (3), Underworld Ties (3) : Flaws: Phylactery (7) Freebies +14 Abilities (28) +2 Arete (8) +1 Background +6 Merits -7 Flaws =36 spent 1 Sphere from Seeking Specialties ; Academics (Sociology):Once you've learned to see it, the herd response within humans is easy to predict. And influence. ; Computer (Hacking):Your firewall isn't even cute, it's just pathetic. Honestly, you'd think these people weren't even trying to keep him out... ; Integrity (Fearless):This war is too important to let little things like fear and doubt get in the way. Courage isn't a lack of fear. Courage is being afraid and doing what is needed regardless. ; Subterfuge (Misdirection):The hacker known as "the Eagle" does not exist. He's an urban myth among the web-crazed counterculture. And he most certainly wasn't responsible for that ghastly breach of secrecy last month... ; Technology (Computer Hardware):Anso's spent enough time up to the elbows in computer guts that it's arguable he could rig up damn near anything, given the right components. ; Underworld Ties:Anso sets up "mutual benefit" arrangements with gangs and organized crime groups like most people check what grocery stores are nearby. They do little things for him, he does little things like erasing criminal citations. ; Wits (Contingencies):When the excrement hits the rotary air impeller, sometimes you have to think fast. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, after all. This is why you create contingency plans. Being able to swap to them quickly and smoothly is important, too. One missed step is all it takes for the HITmark to plug you one. Foci Anso's primary (and only) focus is his trinary tablet computer, which bears a somewhat close resemblance to the new iPad, and thus can usually escape generating Paradox just by existing, provided none of its more outre functions are used in the presence of low-tech-niche Sleepers. Yes, he uses this for everything, though specific Effects are separate subroutines and programs within the computer itself. The AI herself (which is also Anso's Avatar, though he is unaware of this wrinkle) is known by the moniker of Pallas Athena, or Tina for short. The computer has a built in camera, several microphones that can be independently calibrated, internal speakers, and ports that will accept largely any form of data cable on the market, as well as wifi and cellular access capabilities. Tina understands voice commands as well as manual input, but don't think that means any Joe Blow can sweet-talk her. She's a feisty one. = Background = In every society, there are those that simply do not fit. The old saw of the square peg and the round hole, the black sheep, the loose canon. And the harder everyone tries to make that inconsistent variable fit, the worse it gets, pushing back against their "corrections." This is one of those stories. Anso was named for one of his paternal ancestors, who was some sort of nobility back in what is known in the modern day as Germany, but back then was something else completely, likely only known as the local lord's province and little more. Perhaps his parents thought the name would inspire him to greatness, or carry some of that ancestor's fortitude. Or maybe they just liked the sound of it. Regardless, nearly from day one, Anso was trouble. He was nearly impossible to keep in his crib (he figured out how to jimmy the latch before he could even walk), had an utter disregard for most authority figures, and probably would have gotten into many more fights if he were more physically powerful. As it was, because his stature was of the tall-and-spindly sort, the boy had to learn to fight on other battlefields. Learned the reason the pen was known as mightier than the sword. Learned the power of favors and rumors. He was not a bad boy, as such. But he was a very free thinker, unwilling to accept anything as proven fact without the proof, and saw nothing wrong with demanding his "superiors" justify themselves to him. His grades were good, his teacher-reports horrific. The only things that kept his grades from being stellar was the combination of teacher animosity and a marked tendency to refuse assignments outright if they were regarded as pointless or otherwise "stupid." Counseling was attempted, and though it apparently got results, all it really taught the boy was to be crafty. To strike from the shadows with debilitating force, instead of charging the enemy's lines without preparation. Bullies found their lockers flooded with vinegar and dye, or superglued shut. Some teachers (and one principal) found themselves on the wrong end of blackmail, and Anso's grades rose. He easily found his place among the online counterculture, the free-thinkers and budding anarchists expressing their dissatisfaction with what they saw as widespread hypocrisy and oppression in the only free medium still in existence. Or so they thought. Though his parents never knew it, Anso was part of a hacker coven almost as soon as he hit highschool, their escapades amounting mostly to pranks and defacement; the digital equivalent of spraypainting anarchist slogans across campaign billboards. But they drew attention, all the same. As the tumultuous days of highschool began to draw to a close, Anso's parents received something of a surprise in the mail. A job offer for their son, waiting for his graduation, requesting that he come and fill a position within a data-analysis firm in the Pacific Northwest. The letter seemed simple and legit enough, but Anso spotted the symbols and code phrases that his parents did not recognize. His skills were indeed requested, but not for anything as mundane as glorified counting. A professional coven was scouting him. Excellent. Maybe now he could strike at the root of the problem, instead of its branches. The indoctrination into the Virtual Adepts passed with barely a ripple. His skills were already impressive, by mundane standards, and he took to the higher tech offered within the Adepts like a fish to water. His formal initiation, as it was, involved the programming and initialization of his own, personal deck. And as the OS woke up... so did he. The walls of the world shattered around him, and for one blinding moment of clarity, he could see the Correspondence Point. And now he knew. He was right all along. The oppression, the smothering conformity, all of it. So be it. Many of the other Adepts were concerned at the young initiate's "bloody-mindedness," worried that he would bring down the hunters or at the very least get himself slagged. But while Anso was zealous and brutal in his tactics, he was also careful. His was not the death of a thousand cuts. His was the careful stalk and the unseen pounce that destroyed the target before they realized there was a threat. His recent Seeking nearly undid the young Adept, his consciousness and perceptions flowering outwards through both meatspace and the Web. But in that moment he noticed something, a disturbing ripple, a smudge within the digital space. It gave him a reference, and he was able to reel himself back in to report his findings. He had to go to Colorado, something terrible had happened. He would continue the War, but this was something that needed to be done. He could not say how he knew this, or why he was the one that needed to go. He knew only that he must. Luckily, given the diversified and communicative nature of his Tradition, this was not particularly difficult or jarring. One locality was much the same as another, for the most part. He would stay in touch and report his findings as soon as he could. Given the nature of the disaster, it would be prudent to grab a rudimentary download on the werewolves before he left... People of Note ;Nicholas Grey:Hired Anso as a sysadmin after he hacked his way in and found some things. One of four. A bit high-strung, but seems okay so far. ;Kennedy Grey:Bossman's hubby, funny girl, good sense of humor. Two of four. ;David Green:Company's lawyerman, seems like one of those guys you can never quite be sure if he's joking or not. Three of four. Logs ;3/01/2010:A bit of hacking nets some interesting information and a job as an ITmonkey. Log (2 temporary Paradox) ;3/02/2010:Reporting for duty! And having a bit of mental thumb-wrestling with David. Log Category:Virtual Adepts Category:Mages Category:Current PCs